Difficult to gauge impact of inaugural bonus points for maths

The influence of bonus points for higher-level Leaving Certificate maths is hard to judge from trends across almost 1,300 courses offering places today.

Of some 1,200 courses for which there are corresponding first-round cut-off points from last year, around 200 show an increase of 25 points or more. Of these, 50 are level 7 and level 6 courses.

But the Irish Examiner’s comparison of points for almost 800 level 8 degrees with last year’s entry requirements shows that half — just under 400 — have a higher points premium.

The number of courses commanding increased points is similar to last year when there was also a rise in the proportion of Leaving Certificate students with higher CAO points.

Even without the addition of 25 points to nearly 11,000 who passed higher-level maths last week, 10,700 (more than one in five) scored at least 450 CAO points last week. This was 500 more students than last year and may be as much a factor in the increase of points on half of all level 8 courses.

Perhaps also influenced by the opening of more places at many colleges or on individual courses, the bonus points’ impact appears not as widespread as some figures were suggesting.

Many rises may equally be the result of increased demand, the most obvious example being the 18% increase in students choosing level 8 science degrees as their first choice.

Of some 127 such courses, about 80 require more points than last year, and almost 50 are 25 points or more higher than a year ago. These include around a dozen at DCU, with four DIT science degrees up by at least 50 points on 2011’s round 1 requirements.

University of Limerick’s mathematics and physics degree is up 145 points to 535, although maths and economics, and mathematical sciences at the same colleges has one of the biggest falls, decreasing 130 points to 380.

The engineering sector is another pushing for higher standards of entrants to degree courses. Although points are up for around 50 level 8 engineering and technology degrees, half of them by 25 points or more, most courses are unchanged or require less points than a year ago.

Some of the bigger rises were NUI Maynooth’s BSc in pharmaceutical and biomedical chemistry, up 45 to 445, and many of the college’s computer science degrees. Trinity College Dublin’s omnibus engineering degree is up 55 points to 465, with management attributing increases on many of its courses to increased demand as well as to bonus points for maths.

University College Dublin attributes increases of 45 to 60 points on some science degrees to rising demand.

“The debate regarding the value of bonus points for higher maths raised concerns that this would distort the points for high-points courses that do not require higher-level maths. It is the case that 17 UCD courses have increased by 25 points or more in round 1,” said the college’s vice-president Professor Mark Rogers.

“However, many of our degrees such as law, business and law, commerce, and psychology show increases in points more in line with the increase in first preferences.”

The impact on medicine places is also hard to judge, with the combined Leaving Certificate and HPAT aptitude test scores used to allocate places up by four points to eight points at the five medical schools. Every five-point Leaving Certificate score above 550 only counts for one point in the medicine scores (for example, a student with 565 is given 553 before adding their HPAT result).

While that suggests maths bonuses may be significant, the increases are less than the rises of between nine and 13 points for CAO medicine points last year.

In contrast to University of Limerick’s science points rises, its general arts degree needs 35 points fewer than last year. College authorities said this reflects the opening up of more spaces on the programme, as do fewer points for some of its business and science courses that have been expanded to cater for student demand.

CAO figures show 6% fewer students picked arts and social science degrees as their level 8 first preferences this year, although it remains the most popular of all course categories.

Points for the bigger university arts programmes are down slightly on last year, although the points for NUI Galway’s arts degree are down 40 to 300.

Entry to 25 of almost 190 level 8 business degrees is up 25 points or more, and points for most courses under the heading are down or unchanged on 2011.

There is a slight rise for most nursing degrees, but the majority of those increases are by 10 points or less.

With a slight drop in first preferences for education degrees, points on the three teacher training courses with the biggest intake are the same as last year or down slightly.